Oakley, Inc.
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Oakley is an eyewear company known mostly for their high end sunglasses and ski goggles. They also make watches, clothing, bags, backpacks, shoes, prescription glasses and other accessories. Their 'Planetary Headquarters' is located at Foothill Ranch, CA.
Oakley's distinctive 'O' logo is placed on the sides of most of their glasses and sunglasses. They also employ a unique skull logo on some of their accessories and clothing. Recently, fashion-oriented models such as the Gascan now employ a squared version of the 'O' logo. The design of both their products and their stores are a futuristic meld of organic and mechanical forms. The futuristic, spaceship-like stores make use of heavily tooled mechanical designs, such as rivets and thick metal hoses visibly connecting the store's light fixtures to a huge overhead "pipeline".
Like many high-priced brand-name accessories, Oakley's sunglasses are often counterfeited and sold in markets around the world that cater to tourists and internet buyers. Counterfeit Oakleys are often referred to as "Foakleys" (faux Oakleys) or "Joke-leys." Counterfeit Oakleys are occasionally referred to as Oakeys (pronounced: oak-E's), this is due to an inconsistency between the spelling of "Oakley," written on the bridge, on real Oakleys and fake ones.
Oakley's current chairman is Jim Jannard, who owns approximately 68% of the outstanding shares (2006), and reputedly named the company after his English setter Oakley.
Notwithstanding the high cost of top quality polycarbonate, these glasses appear to be priced as high as the market will stand, setting a trend among other sports eyewear manufacturers.
The Oakley Corporation also owns Dragon and Fox Motorsports. In 2006, Oakley acquired the Oliver Peoples group, one of the leading manufacturers of high-end fashion branded eyewear.
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[edit] History
Oakley was first started by Jim Jannard in 1975, by selling what he called 'The Oakley Grip' out of the back of his car at motocross events. They were unlike grips riders had seen at the time.
Although the grips were successful, they were most of the time hidden in the palms of motocross riders as they competed, and thus they did not have a good level of exposure (most people have heard of it, but did not know what they were). It was then in 1980 did Jim release a pair of goggles called the O-Frame. With the classic 'Oakley' logo emblazoned on the strap, onlookers could now recognize the brand. In 1984, Oakley introduced the Factory Pilot, which were sunglasses in the same shape as the O-Frame, but made of plastic. They also had removable lenses, and were popularized by Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and other professional cyclists. Soon after, Oakley introduced several models of sunglasses, including the Blades, Razor Blades, Frogskins, and the Mambos, which eventually evolved into the M-Frame series of glasses.
[edit] Materials
[edit] Frames
- Acetate is used for some of the women specific glasses. Not very widely used.
- C5 is an alloy of five metals used in most of the 'Wire' series.
- Magnesium has been used for a few glasses. It has been discontinued as the ceramic coating on the glasses was notorious for deteriorating due to oxidation.
- O-Luminum is the name given to the aluminium alloy used in some Oakley glasses. It has been applied to only two models, of which only the RazrWire remains in production.
- O Matter is the name given to the nylon composite used for most of Oakley's plastic eyewear.
- Titanium is also used. Some Wires have a Titanium counterpart to their C5 version.
- X Metal is a titanium alloy used in the premium 'X Metal' series.
[edit] Lenses
- Plutonite is used for all of Oakley's glasses. It is made of polycarbonate and features impact protection as well as an inherent ability to block all forms of UV and blue light.
- Lexan is used for goggles.
In 2006, the company partnered with Transitions Optical to produce Oakley powered by Transitions photochromic lenses. Three colors are currently available.
[edit] Other
- Unobtainium is a hydrophilic (water-attracting) rubber that increases grip when wet, usually applied to the contact points of the glasses (nose and sides of the head). The Unobtainium ear socks and nose pieces tend to deteriorate under regular use. However they can be replaced by virtue of replacement kits. Unobtainium of some formula was first used in Oakley's first product, the Oakley Grips.
[edit] Pop Culture
Oakley sunglasses routinely appear in popular movies (particularly action flicks), including the X-men series, Mission: Impossible 2, Blade 2, Black Hawk Down, and others.
The X-metal/Ruby Iridium Juliet worn by James Marsden's Cyclops in X-men is widely considered the pinnacle of production Oakley variants.
Rapper/Producer Lil' Jon is both an Oakley collector and a spokesperson-cum-model for the company, and has several signature versions of Oakley eyewear.
